Would you rather spend time with people or save money?
What would you do with a free hour in the middle of the day?
I work in a 247 call centre environment. And I am one of the few who is not in a queue answering phones. What that means is that most everybody else is on a staggered lunchtime schedule.
So depending on the time you start you get to take lunch approximately 4 hours later. Also our phone folks are not allowed to overlap lunch - so people only get to be off one person at a time.
So I get an hour for lunch every day - and the possibility of someone being off for lunch with me.
Here's the dilemma - I have an entire hour - and if I bring a lunch I finish it in about 10 minutes, sitting looking lonely by myself in the lunchroom, because nobody from my department is on lunch with me. This is of course the more frugal and healthier option.
If I decide to run errands on my break - I am rushed through them, get back to the office, and have to figure out what to eat super quick at my desk.
If I decide to go out for lunch, I usually find someone to come with me, but I am spending between $5-$10 a day on lunch - not including my $3-$5 on breakfast. This is most obviously the most social and expensive choice.
So I hate being alone - especially for meals. That should come as no shock. but I am getting tired of eating out everyday. It's boring, expensive and unhealthy.
So I pose this question - what does everybody else do with their lunch break?
Give me some good ideas, I'd like to break free of my mold!
7 comments:
Well I don't have much of a choice really. I bring my lunch or I go hungry. I could go out, but it would be a 15 minute drive to any place with food for purchase. I only get 30 minutes for lunch so that would suck.
Sometimes there are other people in the lunch room to chat with and sometimes not. I read the newspaper if there's nobody to talk to. If you don't have a newspaper, what about a book or magazine? If I had an hour (and I weren't afraid of the dogs next door), I'd also consider going for a walk.
A final comment. You could be grateful that you have choice at all. Why not bring your lunch 4 out 5 days of the week and treat yourself on the 5th day? You have so many options. (mumbles I wish I had as many options).
:)
I do have options, I just haven't found my sweet-spot.
I don't have an "ideal" lunchtime plan. Well at least not one that doesn't cost me too much.
I tend to bring in a lunch 4 days out of 5, eating it at my desk so I have my whole lunch hour to run errands or otherwise explore the neighbourhood. I'm a big fan of going on exploratory walks during my lunch break, including "testing" myself to see how far I can go before having to turn around.
I try to eat with co-workers once a week so I feel like I'm bonding with them. Actually, I feel a little guilty that I'm such an infrequent socializer these days.
You guys get lunch breaks?
Not sure if this would work for you, but I pack a lunch and still get away from the office for the hour. I pack a lunch in my trusty lunch bag and bring that with me even if I'm having lunch with Kev, Bruce and the other lunch folks. Most days they go to a food court and so it's not a problem to crack open my packed lunch.
It's helping me to eat healthier and I am happy not spending the $8-$10 a day on empty calories.
If you can pack a lunch and bring that along with you even if you go out with your co-workers, that would be ideal.
Michelle's idea rocks. She is smart.
Post a Comment